IND, ALFRED ERNEST,
Shoeing Smith, was the son of Mr George Ind, of Tetbury, Gloucestershire,
where he was born on 16 September 1872. He entered the Royal Horse
Artillery on 19 February 1901; served in the South African War of 1899-1901,
and was awarded the Victoria Cross [London Gazette, 15 August 1902]: "Alfred
Ernest Ind, Shoeing Smith, Royal Horse Artillery, 11th Section Pompoms.
Date of Act of Bravery: 20 December 1901. During the action near Tafelkop,
Orange River Colony, on the 20th December 1901, Shoeing Smith A E Ind, 11th
Section Pompoms, stuck to his gun under a very heavy fire, when the whole of
the remainder of the pompom team had been shot down, and continued to fire
into the advancing Boers till the last possible moment.
Captain Jeffcoat, who
was mortally wounded on this occasion, requested that Shoeing Smith Ind's
gallant conduct in this, and in every other action since he joined the
Pompom Section should be brought to notice". He was mentioned in Despatches
and promoted Corporal after Tafelkop, and was once wounded and mentioned in
Despatches on three other occasions. Corporal Shoeing Smith Ind was
decorated with the Victoria Cross by King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on
20 November 1902. He was later a member of the celebrated battery known as
the 'Chestnut Troop'. He died on 29 November 1916 at Eccleston.
